Page 110 of Hidden

Juno catches my eye across the mat and mouths something that I interpret as finally, which makes me laugh in the middle of a beam routine which is not ideal but also feels amazing.

It seems like I’ve been here for a long time, which if I look around, I have. A lot of others have left who came after me, but I didn’t want to leave until I’m happy with my routine. I know I can do better and I was going to make sure I give it my all.

For some reason, it feels like somewhere I belong today, it might be because I've had a good day, but I’m also enjoying the quiet, no loud voice from everyone else in the room. I run the floor piece twice more. It’s just me and the empty gym.

At the end I stand in the middle of the floor and smile. Sadie, you can’t make it any better than this, I tell myself. That’s the moment I walk over to my gym bag, leave, and cross the field to meet up with the girls at Grounds for some food before class.

As I cross the field I stop when I see Miles. He's outside the library; he hasn’t seen me yet. He’s coming down the steps with his jacket on and his hands in his pockets. The bruising on his face has yellowed at the edges, he’s healing which is good. His face is way too good looking to have marks on it.

He looks up, and smiles as he walks over to me. He stops close enough that I can see the full extent of his face, the eye is still slightly swollen at the corner, the cut along the cheekbone healed to a thin line. I look at his face and don't look away.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi."

"You look better," I say, which makes him smile.

"Felt worse," he says.

"I believe it," I joke, and I want to ask him why he’s ignored me, but the words aren’t coming out. I don’t know how to start the conversation without it sounding like I’m one of those girls who wants an answer for everything, but I’m not that girl. We had sex and he never spoke to me again. I should be shouting at him.

"I'm sorry about the other night, canceling our plans," he says. "I couldn't…something came up that needed my full attention."

"Are you okay?" Fucking hell Sadie is that the best you can do? Shout at him, tell him he’s an asshole.

"Getting there," he says.

Again, this is where I should say more, ask more, but no, the only thing I can say is, “Are you going to Grounds?" I ask.

He looks at me for a moment. "Yeah," he says.

I nod, then I take a breath. "Okay. I’m walking that way too.” I point in the direction and see Mason and Declan walking over laughing about something.

“Hey Sadie,” Mason says nodding, and I say hello, then start walking towards Grounds. Mason wraps his arm over my shoulder. “So how’s training going?” I look past him to Miles which makes Mason laugh. “Don’t worry he won’t be upset I’m touching you.” Mason leans in closer and whispers. “Just give him some time.”

I don’t say anything back to him but thank Declan for opening the door for me. Without being asked the three of them join us at the table.

The table is loud when we join the girls. Juno looks at Miles then toward me and I smile letting her know it’s fine he’s here. I still haven’t told them I slept with Miles at Regionals, because if they knew I’m sure one of them would be trying to kill him for ignoring me. But she does know I like him and hates that he ignores me. It’s only a matter of time before Juno just says something about it.

Miles places a coffee in front of me and passes me the menu.

“What do you want to eat?” he asks, and I tell him I’ll order in a bit and thank him for the coffee.

“Do we not get coffee?” Mason asks Miles, which makes him laugh.

“No, get your own, you cheap asshole.” Miles pulls the chair out and sits next to me.

The girls are talking about a party in a few weeks which they want to go to, Juno says she might skip it because she doesn’t like the guy who is hosting it. I need to find out why she hates the hockey team so much.

I let the conversation play around me, and I glance over at Miles here and there, trying to see if there’s anything I can pinpoint that connects him to Ghost.

Fifteen minutes later they’re still talking about the party. I’ve been building up the courage to ask, but I keep backing out. I’m going to say it, I set my coffee down, turn to Miles, and whisper. "Can I ask you something?"

Miles looks at me, then looks around the table and sees that everyone else is in their own conversations. He stops tapping on his phone, giving me his full attention.

"You ignored me," I whisper. "For days, you weren’t in Grounds, you didn’t send me any messages, nothing. And I want to know why." I glance at the others to make sure no one is watching us, they're not.

He stares at me for what feels like forever. "I wanted to keep you safe," he says.